OE Global 2018

Independent, democratic, and post-Soviet, Kyrgyzstan is in the midst of multiple changes that involve its cultural identity, economic incentive structure, government, and laws, all of which have an impact on the country’s educational systems and educational practices. In addition to national and local initiatives, multiple international entities, including other countries, multinational corporations, private individuals, and international non-governmental agencies are and have been involved in initiatives involving education in Kyrgyzstan. These initiatives are meant to address disruption in the funding of school, libraries, educator professional development, and educational infrastructure as well as the ageing and replacement of Soviet-era curriculum materials in response to Kyrgyzstan's independent status after the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Following the nationwide initiative on promoting OER launched in 2014, education practitioners in school and University levels have begun exploring open pedagogy and OER projects. Successful implementation of open educational resources requires coordination among different partners. Partnership should be cherished at all levels, whether across a single institutions, as well as among institutions. Academic libraries are among most active stakeholders working towards promotion of OER in Kyrgyzstan. Building on Bekeshev and Samykbaeva’s 2017 OE Global presentation, this presentation will highlight current developments, a university open education pilot project, and recent research regarding copyright, open educational practices and open education resources in Kyrgyzstan.
The presentation will also include descriptions of partnerships, projects, pilots, and national-level faculty survey results intended to determine the level of awareness and practice of Open Educational Practices, OER, and Copyright-related decisions. Potential areas of further focus and recommendations for increasing the adoption of open education practices will also be addressed. The presentation features an academic Library Director, Author of Kyrgyz Copyright law and law faculty member, and two librarians: a Fulbright Specialist on OER and an Electronic Resources librarian.